Most Veterans with appeals before the Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims are seeking to achieve service-connected disability compensation. This means a disability which was incurred in or aggravated during active military service. An example can include a shoulder injury either from battle or from slipping on the mess hall floor. Either mechanism of injury can be service connected.

There are five (5) elements which must be proven to earn Veteran Disability Compensation:

1. A Veteran who was discharged or released from service other than dishonorable.


2. A current injury which arose during the Veteran's service. The injury must therefore be ongoing and disabling.


3. The current injury must be service connected. Generally this element requires medical evidence to link the injury to the Veteran's service. Typically medical records and examination are the best and most direct evidence. Most often the injuries are of a chronic and continuous nature.

Because of the unique hazards encountered by many veterans and the difficulties in proving service connection, the law presumes a "service connection" for the following medical conditions:

1. Chronic Diseases - Including arthritis, brain hemorrhage, diabetes and others, including some tropic diseases such as cholera, dysentery or malaria, if manifested within one (1) year of discharge.


2. Persian Gulf Veterans -"Gulf War Syndrome"


3. Radiation Exposure


4. Exposure to Herbicide Agents - For example, Agent Orange


5. Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis.

Veterans Disability Appeals Attorney and Lawyer, Randy Zeldin, Esq. represents Veterans before the Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims, regarding issues of service connected disabilities, in all 50 States

Contact us online or call (561) 613-0101 today for a free and confidential consultation!